Wednesday, June 26, 2002

When I talk about character, I am talking of the character of our community. Fayette County is unique in the Metro area, because of the character of our citizens, both those who live in the cities and in the county. You have worked hard to improve and protect our community. The cities and the county both have their distinct identities, which give Fayette County our overall character. I have always said we are only one or two rezonings or one or two annexations and one election away from losing all we have built with our dedication. Greed can destroy all of our work. The developers keep saying we are not growing fast enough and we need to grow faster to make more money. The taxpayers will pay for that kind of growth. So many of the suburbs of Atlanta look alike, you can drive around and never really tell them apart. I know one thing, once it is over-developed you can never replace it. I do not want to look like the rest of metro Atlanta.

"Community character" means to me that when I drive through our Fayette County it is a pleasant experience. There is a distinct difference between the cities and the county. I would like to see it remain that way. The cities have their agendas and the county their own. There will always be differences, but all of the citizens of Fayette County should benefit from their collective decisions. That is the nature of the character of our different communities. It is selfish for one community to take from all of us for their benefit.

Character counts with elected officials. The City of Tyrone is upset about being sued by the county over the sewer coming from the city of Fairburn. I trust the present Tyrone elected officials when they say, "the sewer will never be expanded by them." That is what I am worried about, what if in the future, developer-driven politicians take control of Tyrone, what will stop them from annexing and expanding the sewer?

Fairburn wants to annex their city into Fayette County. The property owners next to that property can then annex into Fairburn, get on sewer, build many high-density apartments, increasing the population of both Fairburn and Fayette County. Fairburn will get the taxes and you will pay the taxes to educate their children in Fayette County schools. County Commissioners Linda Wells and Greg Dunn have stood up to protect your from Fairburn, call them and offer your support.

Character counts in Development Authorities. Development Authorities are appointed, unelected, and in many cases almost unaccountable. Your tax dollars fund them and you should know where and how your money is spent. Should your Peachtree City tax dollars subsidize the tennis fees for non-residents of Peachtree City? The taxpayers should know the answers. The Development Authorities in both the cities and county should give us a simple spreadsheet. How much have we given them in the last 12 years? How did they spend it? What did the citizens get in return, did it reduce our taxes, and is it worth it? Let us decide if we are getting our money's worth.

Character counts in developers and real estate agents. We have many local quality developers and real estate agents. We do not need to give special consideration to the out-of-county big money developers to develop our community.

Character counts in elections. Qualifying had not even closed when I received in the mail the second vicious, misleading attack from former Fayetteville Mayor Mike Wheat. Former Mayor Mike Wheat ran and was elected to prevent out-of-control growth and annexations in Fayetteville brought on by a former group of "good old boy" politicians. Yet, during the time Mike Wheat was mayor, he annexed land over 35 times into the city of Fayetteville. If you want to take things out of context as he did in his misleading flier, he is responsible for the "Big Boxes" Wal-Mart and Home Depot there. He approved a poorly designed meandering shopping center that once you are in; you have to drive to most stores. He is responsible for "The Mike Wheat Memorial Traffic Jam" in Fayetteville that makes it almost impossible to support our local businesses and has hurt the local "Mom and Pop" stores. He is responsible for the many vacant stores in Fayetteville. He is responsible for the largest crime increase in Fayette County's history, forcing us to build a larger jail. He claims that he reduced taxes in Fayetteville yet everyone in Fayette County will pay for that new jail. Is this someone the public can trust? Ask the residents of Pine Trail.

The point here is, folks, this is another very important election that we will decide in the primary. Get the facts; know whom you are voting for and why. The developers are out of power for now, they want their give-away politicians back in power. They have the bucks to fund the fancy fliers for their candidates. They want what you have. There is no question that I am supporting and working to return Commissioners Linda Wells and Greg Dunn to office, they have the strong character to represent us. Yes, they are tough, but that tough is for us and they are fair to the developers, they treat them all the same.

See you at the polls August 20,

Bob Craft

Craftb@aol.com

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